Demand for electric supply equipment is growing as the desire to reduce the global dependency on fossil fuels increases. As technology related to electric motors advances, more and more electric motors replace combustion engines. This effect has already begun in the automotive industry. Today, hybrid and electric vehicles are becoming increasingly popular. Accordingly, demand for supplying these vehicles with electric power is rising.
To meet this demand, individuals and corporations have been increasing production and installation of electric vehicle charging stations, also referred to as electrical vehicle supply equipment (EVSE). Among other components, this equipment typically includes a coupler at one end of a cable for connecting the charging station to an electric vehicle so that an electric supply may be delivered from a power supply source to the electric vehicle. For practical purposes, standards have been developed to bring uniformity to the design of couplers. Due to these standards, users of electric vehicles can be assured that they will find an electric vehicle charging station with a coupler adapted to fit their particular electric vehicle. While standards serve an invaluable purpose, they also set limits on the design of the couplers.
The coupler is an important component of the charging station because without it power cannot be supplied to electric vehicles. In addition to performing a meaningful function, the coupler itself may have considerable monetary value. For these reasons, couplers may be targets of vandalism. Among all the components of the charging station, the coupler may be most susceptible to vandalism, in part, because it is necessarily exposed to the environment surrounding the charging station so that it may be readily accessible.
Further, couplers may be particularly vulnerable to theft and/or vandalism because charging stations may be installed in numerous locations. That is, the charging stations may be spread out over a large area instead of being grouped together as traditional gas pumps are at a gas station. Therefore, it may be especially difficult for an owner or operator to monitor multiple charging stations.
Accordingly, new systems and methodologies are required to secure the couplers of charging stations while maintaining user friendliness, safety, and cost of ownership.